


Chasing Daphne

by SweetLittleDarling



Category: Bridgerton (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Idiots in Love, Marriage, Protective Older Brothers, Romance, Runaway
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 00:55:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28840485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetLittleDarling/pseuds/SweetLittleDarling
Summary: After finding out the real reason why Simon wont give her children, Daphne and Simon's relationship begins to shatter. When Simon tells her he is leaving on a solo trip to France this angers and hurts her. Daphne decides to go on a trip of her own to a tiny village where there are rumors she might be able to get an annulment. Sheltered and naive Daphne has no ideas the dangers that lie traveling as a young woman. Once they figure out her plan, her brothers and her husband are determined to get her back safely.
Relationships: Daphne Bridgerton/Simon Basset
Comments: 31
Kudos: 195





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I adored the TV series and can't wait for season 2!

**Prologue**

The Duke and Duchess of Hastings had not spoken for three weeks which the entire staff found odd, especially since they had hardly kept their hands off each other during their first week as a married couple.

They could feel the tension in the air as each party picked at their food. The Duke of Hastings would give his wife a hurt, pained look every couple of seconds and the Duchess would pretend not to see. Then the Duchess would give the Duke a look filled with anger and betrayal that the Duke would stare blankly at.

“You Grace,” one of the footmen said quietly as he faced the duchess. “Mary wanted me to inform you that she left Lady Whistledown’s paper in your bedroom. She apologizes that it arrived so late. The carrier boy dropped it in a puddle, and it had to be left out to dry.”

“Thank you for informing me. I will be reading it after dinner.” Daphne replied. _Since I won’t be doing anything else_ , it had been three weeks since she and the duke had, had sexual intercourse and she doubted they would ever have sex again. The two of them had been avoiding each other and they only saw each other at dinner. Daphne would have had dinner in her room, but the Duke had put up such a fuss when she had suggested it. She had just given up and continued to have dinner with him. Though she wondered why since they didn’t even speak.

“Why are you still reading Lady Whistledown?” Simon asked as he took a sip of his wine. “We are already married, and she only causes you anguish.”

“I like to be kept informed,” Daphne responded with a clipped tone. “Or are you going to be monitoring my reading as well, Your Grace?”

Simon’s jaw clenched and it was clear he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself when it was clear they had a very active audience. “Very well, Your Grace. I was merely looking after your health. Women have delicate sensibilities. Most women anyway.”

“I’m not the sensitive one, Your Grace,” the words escaped her mouth before she could stop them. Simon glared at her and Daphne ignored him as she pushed back her uneaten plate of food. “I am going up for the night. Good evening Your Grace.”

Simon nodded as he gave her a curt nod, no doubt he was glad to get rid of her.

Daphne went up the stairs to her lonely bedroom. After her lady’s maid Mary had gotten her into her nightgown, she settled in to read Lady Whistledown’s latest gossip and scandal. She had been expecting something regarding the Featheringtons or Marina, but it wasn’t. It was about her and the duke.

_. . .It seems there is trouble in paradise for the Duke and Duchess of Hastings mere weeks after their wedding. Has the honeymoon already gone sour for what were two of the more eligible and sought-after members of our beloved social circle? Perhaps our lovely Duchess might have been suited more for the title of Princess rather than the title of Duchess. My dearest Duchess of Hastings if you are ever looking to part way from your husband you might want to start looking at the tiny village of Porter, sixty miles away from London. As always, my dearest readers, I will keep my eyes peeled for-_

Daphne crumbled the piece of paper and threw it into the fireplace. How did she know? How did she _always_ know?


	2. I

I

Daphne was still in a foul mood when she went downstairs for breakfast. Even though she was perfectly courteous to everyone around her, Simon could see the scowl that was threatening to appear on her pretty face.

Simon took a bite of toast before asking, “Is anything wrong, wife? You’re awfully quiet this morning.”

“Well, you’re not exactly a chatterbox yourself,” she snapped as then she instantly regretted it. She bit back her tongue, so she didn’t say anything else in the presence of the household staff. Daphne didn’t want to mention what she had read over and over in the papers either. Did everyone know? Of course, they knew, everyone knew that woman. She was probably the laughingstock in London by now. She had been married for less than six months and now the entire world realized her marriage was falling apart. “I’m sorry, I’m just tired.”

Simon simply nodded, he obviously did not know about Lady Whistledown’s latest tidbit of news or maybe he did and didn’t care. They were married so he had gotten the nosy women off his back which was what he had wanted in the first place. “I am leaving on a journey tomorrow morning. For two months in the South of France. I have some business to attend and I thought I should do it now.”

“The Season is not even over,” Daphne replied moodily as she picked at her breakfast. “And you need to give me more notice Your Grace. France is not exactly ten minutes away from here I still have to pack and make-”

“I said I was going,” Simon interrupted as he took a sip of his drink giving her an odd look. “No one said anything about you. You’ll stay here and tend to our estate. I will be traveling a lot and not resting, surely not comfortable for a lady of your status. If you would prefer, you could stay with your family for the remainder of the Season so you do not feel quite so abandoned.”

Daphne cheeks burned with a mixture of rage and embarrassment as the rest of the staff pretended to ignore them awkwardly. She pushed back her chair, suddenly not feeling very hungry. “Very well, Your Grace. If that is what you prefer. I’m just glad I heard it from you and not your valet.”

A look of concern passed over Simon’s face. “Daphne, you didn’t eat much. I insist-”

“You can’t insist anything. You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

Daphne ran towards her private bedroom and closed the door before she lied down on her bed dissolving in tears. Everything was falling apart. He had warned he wasn’t the marrying kind. Her own brother had warned her and yet she still couldn’t be but terribly unhappy.

After a few more minutes of self-pity and tears the Duchess finally calmed down and looked at the Lady Whistledown article at the foot of her bed that the maids must have missed. She read over it carefully until her eyes finally caught her interest in something the mysterious writer had said. Apparently, there was something which could help her unhappy marriage. From the looks of it the writer had hinted at an annulment of her marriage to the Duke.

Daphne sat back down. Would an annulment be possible? They rarely happened in their social circle, but if she could get it then she and Simon could finally stop making each other miserable. She could even get remarried and have children of her own. Maybe not a prince, but surely someone respectable, she had been married for less than six months after all.

The anger and the worry she had been feeling for the past few days was slowly starting to disappear. She had to go to that little town and get her annulment. It would devastate and cause shame for her entire family, but for once she was thinking of herself. She had already gone through enough grief.

The problem was how was she going to get there? She couldn’t ask the Duke, he had already told her they would remain married. She couldn’t tell her brothers, or they would have a coronary and probably kill the Duke for making their sister unhappy. Daphne stiffened, very well she would have to do this by herself.

The Duke was leaving from France and she would be away from his watchful eye. There were plenty of horses in the stable and the staff usually left her alone. The journey couldn’t be that far could it? She could take some dresses in a small satchel and a basket with bread, butter, and jam. A few days of being uncomfortable would be worth it, if she could have a small chance of happiness.

There was a knock on the door and her lady’s maid came in. “Good evening, shall I help you get ready for bed, Your Grace?”

“Yes, Mary.” Daphne said with a smile. “You may.”

* * *

Daphne watched as Simon gave last minutes instructions to the coach man. She was watching though the window still wearing her robe. It was early in the morning, barely dawn and her husband had come in to say goodbye, but she had pretended to be asleep.

She touched the window and swallowed. She was going to miss him. Oh, why had things ended up like this? They had rushed dreadfully into this marriage and now both of them were paying the price and they were both miserable.

Simon tilted his head and saw her looking at him. For a second, she though he was going to wave, but he just grimaced as he went inside his carriage. Daphne watched as the carriage drove away.

When the carriage was finally out of sight she leaned down and pulled out the small satchel she had hidden under her bed. She moved quickly so no one could tell she was awake. She packed a few dresses and undergarments. She left behind the corsets and her heels, they will not be comfortable for this journey.

Daphne closed the satchel. She would leave tonight.


	3. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your patience and support!

II

The day seemed increasingly long to Daphne, especially without Simon there to distract her. Her eyes constantly went towards the clock as the hours went by. She tried to make the hours go by, by reading, writing a letter to Mama, or drinking copious amounts of tea and eating cake so she didn’t waste too much of her money on food, but that only seemed to make the time go slower.

She refused dinner, citing the fact she had a headache and wished to be left alone. Though to be honest she was still full of the tea and sweet cookies she had, had at tea. She advised her maid, Mary not to come in the morning and told her she would ring for her. Mary had been confused, but agreeable.

Daphne blinked at the ceiling as she waited for the servants to go to sleep. When she was sure all of them were in their beds, she realized it was time to make her move. She got up a redressed in a simple, dark blue riding dress that would be able to hide the dirt. The next thing she did was put on her riding boots as she grabbed the satchel filled with extra clothes from under the bed. She had managed to retrieve her marriage certificate from Simon’s office, and it was carefully tucked in the satchel’s front pocket.

Her heart felt as if it were pounding inside her chest as she forced her legs to move. Daphne decided to take the servant’s staircase to avoid being noticed as much as possible. If anyone heard the creaking of her shoes, then they would probably think it was a servant heading to use the facilities.

She was nearly drenched in sweat by the time she reach the backdoor by the kitchen that led outside and where she would eventually reach the stables. She bit her bottom lip as she pushed the door hating how loud the creaking sound was.

Daphne blew a sigh of relief when she felt the cool night air on her cheeks. She gripped her bag tightly and started running towards the stables where the horses were. She would just die of shame if someone saw her walking around at all hours like a thief in the night.

She finally reached the stables where her horse, Honey was. Honey let out a low whine when she saw her, and Daphne rubbed her nose. She carefully grabbed the riding saddle from where it was seated nearby and by some form of miracle managed to clumsily place and tighten the saddle on her horse.

Her hands were slick with sweat as she urged Honey not to move as she somehow managed to get on the horse with the satchel. She grimaced, she was not even an hour into her escape journey and she was already soaked with sweat. She should have brought more clothes.

“Good girl, Honey,” she cooed as she rubbed the horse’s flank. She took a deep breath as she gripped the reins. “Let’s go.”

* * *

Simon was annoyed as he watched the people walk by. The majority of them were ladies which only reminded him of the sad wife he had left back home. Daphne. He wondered what she was doing now. Probably drinking tea and eating breakfast. What he would give to bury his face in her lily scented neck.

Simon raised an eyebrow as a nervous, looking servant went towards him. “Jeffrey, is the carriage still not fixed?” They had been on their way to the nearest dock to catch a ship headed to France when their carriage had broken down unexpectedly last night. Simon had reluctantly been waiting for hours in a small village and he was afraid he would be late to catch the ship.

Jeffrey mumbled something as he stared at his toes which only seemed to annoy him further because he didn’t understand what he was saying. “What? Speak up!”

“I am so sorry Your Grace,” he bowed clumsily. “We have received a message from the household. They received word that our carriage had broken down-”

“What did they want?” he asked impatiently. He cocked his head to the side as he bit his lip. Could it be Daphne? Was she ill? Had she been injured? Was she with child? His child. No, it was too soon, wasn’t it? How long had it been since they had made love?

“It’s about Your Grace,” Jeffree looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but there. “It seems the Duchess of Hastings is nowhere to be seen. Her maid went to look for her this morning and the servants have searched every inch of the house. She is nowhere to be seen and one of the horses is missing from the stables.”

For a second Simon’s entire world came crashing down as a million thoughts entered his head at rapid speed. He grew more concerned as the seconds flew by. Where was his wife? Was she hurt? Had she left on her own accord or had she been taken?

Yes, Daphne had been rather moody lately, but she wouldn’t deliberately leave, would she? Maybe she had gone back to her family home in London to enjoy the rest of the Season, but then why wouldn’t she just tell one of the maids? They would have gotten the carriage ready. This was bad. Very bad.

Arnold, his carriage driver came towards them, oblivious about everything that had just happened. “Good news, Your Grace. The carriage has been fixed and we should make it to the dock with plenty of time to spare-”

“We are not going!” Simon barked, his voice sounded harsher than necessary. “Tell everyone we are heading back home.”

Arnold looked confused. “Of course, Your Grace but-”

“The Duchess of Hastings is missing,” he interrupted impatiently as he looked around. Where was his damn horse? “We need to find her. Tell everyone and will someone please get me a damn horse!”

Where could Daphne have gone? He would search every inch of the earth for his wife if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

“Lord Bridgeton, there is a letter for you.” The butler at the Bridgeton home greeted Anthony holding a crisp white envelope with the letter H for Hastings sealing it together. “It arrived early this morning. I did not want to disturb your sleep.”

“Thank you, Thomas,” Anthony thanked him as he opened the letter. “I wonder what news my sweet sister has to share.”

His brown eyes scanned the frantic words of the housekeeper. His sister was missing, and a horse had been taken from the stables this morning. Bloody hell.

“Good morning, dearest. I didn’t know you were awake.” Violet Bridgeton’s voice was heard from behind in her usual cheerful demeanor. She frowned when Anthony turned around and she saw the horrified look on his face. “Anthony, whatever is the matter? You looked like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“It’s Daphne, mother.”


	4. III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your patience! This is going to be a very short story, I’m planning 12 chapters in total :)

III

In the matter of minutes, Benedict, Colin, Anthony, and Violet were in the late Viscount Bridgeton’s office trying to make sense of the news they had just received. Benedict was re-reading the letter from the head housekeeper for the fifth time, Colin kept looking out the window for an odd reason, Anthony was furious and kept muttering to himself things no one understood, and Violet had not stopped crying.

“What I don’t understand,” Anthony finally spoke. “Is why we are receiving the letter from the head housekeeper and not Hastings himself. Where the bloody hell is he that he can’t keep track of his wife?”

“Anthony!” Violet’s voice was sharp. “Keep your voice down, the last thing I want to do is frighten the children. What we need to focus on right now is finding your sister. A pretty young woman traveling alone just brings trouble. Oh, dear I need my smelling salts before I render myself useless.”

“I shall inform the proper authorities, mother,” Colin kissed his mother on the cheek. He was no doubt in a hurry to get out of the house. “As well as ask our neighbors if they heard or saw anything unusual. You know how people talk.”

Violet spoke up, surprising everyone by the harshness of her tone. “Oh, let them talk! They are bound to find out anyway. Either by that odious Lady Whistledown or-” Her voice broke. “I don’t care what people say. All I want is to make sure Daphne is alright. Colin informed their authorities. We’ll wait here and see if between your brothers and I we can think of something.”

Benedict placed down the letter on the dainty table in front of them. “Why would the housekeeper write to us that our dear sister is missing? Surely our brother-in-law would have let us known. We wouldn’t have even gotten a letter, Simon would be bashing his first on our door.”

Anthony’s brow eyes shined with both irritation and malice. “The Duke of Hasting was not a suitable candidate for our sister as I tried to point out several times.”

“The Duke of Hastings loves Daphne and he thinks very fondly of us,” Violet opposed. “You mustn’t talk so cruelly, Anthony.”

“Our sister is missing. I should think that were reason enough to lose all sense of formalities.”

Benedict shifted uncomfortably at the rising tension between his mother and eldest brother. “Perhaps Daphne just came to visit us.” He tried to explain. “She probably took a carriage to surprise us and forgot to let the housekeeper know. It’s probably just crossed wires.”

Violet and Anthony didn’t look quite as convinced and Benedict cleared his throat. “I’ll take my horse and ride around London and I assure you I shall see the Hastings carriage and be back within two shakings of a lamb’s tail. Come Colin, I’ll accompany you to ring the alarm.”

Benedict opened the door and they found Eloise standing on the other end, her face peaked, and she had obviously been listening to their entire conversation. “Daphne is missing?” she blurted out. “Where could she have gone? Her entire life seems to have come out of a fairytale. Why would she just get up one morning and leave?”

“We have more questions than answers, dearest but I’m sure everything will be straightened right away.” Violet threw a warning glance at Colin and Benedict as she placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She tried to keep her voice from trembling, but she was not doing a good job. “Now Eloise let’s have some tea. I believe both of us need some. Now not a word to the others. Boys, now hurry along. We need some good news.”

* * *

The Duke of Hastings was looking at his staff with a look that could practically kill. The only one who was looking at him was the housekeeper who was staring at him with a peaked face. “I am very sorry this happened, Your Grace. We informed the authorities as soon as we heard. As well the Bridgertons. We sent a letter there immediately, but I’m afraid we have not heard back.”

“When did you noticed Her Grace was not in her bed?” Simon asked. He was trying to keep his cool. He knew it wasn’t the housekeeper’s fault. Who had ever heard of a runaway Duchess?

“The Duchess went to bed early. She did not have dinner because she said she was still full from tea. She had a headache and asked Mary not to come in until she rang for her. At nine am, Mary naturally got worried and went to search for the Duchess. Her bed was empty, so she searched all of the rooms where the Duchess usually spends her time. When she could not find her, she went in search of me.”

Simon suppressed a groan as he looked at the stable boy who couldn’t be more than fourteen years old. “And when did you notice that one of the horses was missing from the stables?”

“At around 8 o’clock this morning,” the boy gulped. “We didn’t put the two events together until Mary let us know Your Grace was missing. I had nothing to do with it, Your Grace I swear.”

“I know you didn’t.” Simon tried not to lose his temper, but this questioning was going unbearably slow, especially since all of the servants seemed to be frightened of him. “Have we heard word from any of Bridgertons?”

“No, Your Grace,” the housekeeper responded.

Simon nodded, “I’m going to go back to London to talk to my wife’s family. You are to let me know immediately if you hear anything from the Bridgertons or the Duchess. I do not care how small or insignificant it may be. I demand to know immediately.”

“Of course, Your Grace. We will get your carriage ready.”

“That will not be necessary,” Simon replied. His only thoughts were on his wife. The thought of Daphne being cold and frightened scared the life out of him. Not to mention he was quite positive a young lady of her status had never been truly alone. If anything should happen to her it would haunt him for the rest of his days. “I shall ride by horse.”

* * *

Every bone and muscle in Daphne’s body ached as she rode her horse into a small village that she did not know the name of. She had been riding for hours and she felt as if her legs no longer worked. She had only stopped a ten o’clock in the morning for a quick breakfast of bread and butter with an apple, but after that she had continued riding. She had wanted to place herself with as much distant as she could from the Hastings manor and London.

She wondered if anyone at the Hastings Manor knew she had disappeared. They must have. Had they managed to tell Simon? No, he was probably already on the boat to France, completely clueless on what Daphne was trying to do and quite frankly she didn’t care. Annulling their marriage was the least she could do.

Daphne looked at the sky. It was nearing dark, she needed to find an inn that hopefully offered a dinner option. The idea of soggy bread was rather unappetizing.


End file.
